Vista Land inaugurates floating village

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., in partnership with the Laguna Lake Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways and Dutch construction company Dura Vermeer with Kingspan Unidek, inaugurated yesterday a floating village project called “Vintahanan” in Laguna Lake.

The Vintahanan project was conceptualized and spearheaded by Vista Land president and chief executive officer Manuel Paolo Villar as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility, through its operating subsidiary Camella Homes.

Vintahanan is derived from the words “vinta,” a type of traditional boat, and “tahanan” or home. The floating houses or vintahanan were built to serve as a model of a floating village with proper waste management system in place. It is comprised of four 22-square meter bungalow residential units, an information center that will serve as its office and an event center that will be a venue for activities and functions.

The floating houses or vintahanan are designed to drift so that when floodwaters rise, the homes rise as well. The structure is fastened to 15-foot long mooring posts with sliding rings, allowing it to float upwards when flooding occurs.

“The floating village and the pioneering technology utilized in construction are perfect for an archipelagic country like the Philippines, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It is an effective way of mitigating the damaging effects of climate change, particularly massive flooding and rising sea levels,” said Villar.

As the country’s biggest homebuilder, Villar added, Vista Land is well-positioned to be at the forefront of new innovations. Vintahanan is considered to be a showcase or model that can be duplicated in other flood-prone communities in the Philippines. Vintahanan is located in Laguna Lake, Lakefront, Barangay Sucat, Muntinlupa City.